Bloodrose
02-21-08, 09:50 PM
LVL 4 Updates and Additions in silver!
Level 3 Profile (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=11384)
Biographical Information:
Name: Teric Bloodrose
Age: 52
Race: Human
Hair Color: Silver
Eye Color: Blue
Weight: 168 lbs
Height: 6'0"
Occupation: Fighter
Personality:
Teric has been described before as a truly neutral party, lacking both political and personal loyalties. He's the sort of stray radical that adheres to only a modest personal code of conduct, and as a mercenary can be persuaded to do just about anything for the right price. Generally the veteran comes across as friendly and good natured, although he can become quickly annoyed by the right people. While conducting business he is curt and professional to a fault, and his cautious nature prevents anyone from ever claiming that over-confidence led to Teric's downfall...
Physical Description:
Teric is relatively unremarkable appearance-wise, but his straight back and muscular frame betray a level of fitness not often seen in men his age. He keeps his silvery hair cropped close to his head, and maintains a neatly trimmed beard to try and hide the wrinkles and scars he does have; a look that might attract women with a thing for older gentlemen. His blue eyes have been described as non-descript, but seem to fit, and the old warrior has begun to develop something that could pass for a healthy skin tone.
While he has reclaimed some of the muscle mass that made him a threat in his youth, it's still Teric's clothing that's most likely to draw a person's attention in a crowd. His overwhelmingly black wardrobe, splashed with a bit of crimson here and there, is well tailored and bit higher-class than what you'd normally find on a career fighter. His coat especially, with it's ermine collar and the professional fit, does it's part to attract wandering eyes to the warrior wherever he goes.
Skills:
After nearly thirty-two years of rigorous training, intense combat, and having faced nearly every trick, attack, spell, or illusion ever conceived by man, Teric Bloodrose is a veritable master of armed and unarmed combat. Unfortunately, though, decades of wear, tear, injuries, and wounds take a hefty toll on the human body. Thus, while he still retains a fairly impressive knowledge of various fighting styles, weapons, and combat tactics, he is only able to perform but a mere handful of the feats he learned in his youth...
Current Fighting Style: Waterdancing
Waterdancing is a fighting style heavily rooted in light-armed combat, and focuses primarily on speed, agility, and balance. As he has grown older, and the brute strength of his youth waned, Teric slowly began to develop this style of fighting as a replacement. Now very refined, this style enables Teric to perform an extensive catalog of swordplay attacks and parries, and teaches the old fighter how to move in ways that give the appearance of grace and speed without actually heightening his abilities in these areas. By comparison you could equate Teric's fighting skill here to a highly advanced level of skill in other schools of fighting.
Benefits: While the fighting style itself is not specifically designed to abnormally or superficially enchance the speed and agility of practitioners, it does encourage said practitioners to develop in these areas. That said, it is not uncommon for Waterdancers to excel in these areas after practicing the style for a good period of time.
1) Attack Speed: Teric is now approximately 2x faster than the average warrior when attacking.
2) Reaction Time: Teric's reaction time and reflexes are now approximately 2.5x those of the average warrior.
3) Increased Agility: Teric can now comfortably evade normal attacks from people of average skill. This is to say that an average swordsman would have a difficult time striking Teric, while a skilled swordsman would not have the same level of difficulty. His increased agility also affords him the ability to perform simple acrobatic feats such as short wall runs, somersaults, and careful tumbles.
Sixth Sense
As he's become reacquainted with the battlefield, Teric's so-called 'Sixth Sense' has started to come back to him. Essentially the 'Sense' can be summarized as the decades of past battle experiences Teric had cataloged in the back of his mind. When you've fought as many people as Teric has, you begin to notice and pick out particular movements and stances - and can sometimes guess what an opponent is going to do next based on these markers.
At this level Teric has a 15% chance of correctly anticipating what an opponent is going to do - before they do it - so long as his opponent drops some hints through his body language (assumes a particular stance, holds their weapon a particular way, etc).
Works best against: Other swordsmen/swordswomen, as Teric has fought this type of opponent the most.
Works least against: Fighters with unorthodox or unpredictable fighting styles, as the clues they drop are generally vague or unfamiliar.
Doesn't work on: Magi, as it's generally impossible to guess what kind of magic is going to be flying at you next.
Peak Physical Conditioning
For all intensive purposes, despite its aged and worn appearance, Teric possesses the body of a man not even half his age. Rigorous training and a knack for finding himself in physically violent situations have toned and shaped the warrior's body into top form; even by the standards of men in their twenties. This level of fitness affords Teric the ability to strenuously exert himself for good periods of time and to lift and carry up to 3x his body weight fair distances.
Dense Skeleton
The hundreds and thousands of micro-fractures Teric has suffered over decades of being beaten and pummeled have slowly compacted his bones and made them denser. By virtue of this phenomenon, Teric's bones are now roughly as strong as steel. While this makes Teric's bones more difficult to break, it also adds the disadvantage of making his bones brittle as well. When they do break, they tend to break badly rather than just fracture or crack.
Techniques:
Cross-Slash
One of the few techniques Teric can still perform at his current level of fitness. "Slash" refers to both the method and result of the technique, with Teric whipping the blade of his weapon through the air at such a speed that it rends the air for several feet in an arc, following the trail of the blade. The technique now also creates a second arc that travels perpendicular to the first. The effectiveness of this technique is directly tied to the range at which it is used, and the effectiveness drops exponentially the farther away Teric is from his target.
At a range of 0 - 10 feet the arc can damage persons or objects as if they had been struck by a Dehlar blade. The force of the blow is such that the arc can pierce steel.
At a range of 10 - 21 feet the arc loses its cutting edge, but retains enough blunt force to dent steel.
At a range of 21 - 32 feet the arc will begin to dissipate, and the target might feel a strong gust of wind blow past them. This wind gust is powerful enough to disrupt the trajectory of projectiles in flight.
After 32 feet the arc is completely dissipated.
Teric can use this ability 2 times per thread before the muscles in his arm can no longer sustain the force needed to perform this feat.
Double-Take:
This skill, when activated, causes anyone looking directly at Teric to suffer a mild to negligible hallucination. Some have described the effects of said hallucination to be like crossing your eyes so that you momentarily see double, while others have described it as Teric's shadow coming to life. Whatever the influence, which plays heavily on the type of opponent and their personal resistances to illusionary tricks, the overall effect is essentially the same. The Double-Take does exactly what's its name implies: it plays with a person's vision just long enough to make them doubt what they are seeing, forcing them to take a second look...a double-take.
Activation time: Instantaneous
Duration: 1/2 a second
Teric can currently use this ability 1 time per thread.
How a PC is influenced by the Double-Take is entirely up to them. Characters resistant or immune to illusions or hallucinations are not likely to be affected at all, while simple-minded or inexperienced characters are likely to suffer some form of momentary visual 'freak out'.
Flashbang:
This is an old shock-and-awe tactic Teric picked up from a street magician turned street fighter in his youth. While normally performed using an explosive powder or similar medium, this particular magician had found a way to recreate the results using a low-level fire cantrip. It is essentially a fireball spell minus the fireball, and allows Teric to quickly conjure up a flash of bright light accompanied by a loud banging noise as the magics normally used to condense the fireball rapidly expand and escape Teric's palm.
Anyone looking directly at Teric at the time of casting is subject to the blinding and/or stunning influences of the flashbang.
Whether or not PC's are affected by the light or sound is entirely up to them. Can be cast within the time period of 1 post.
Teric can use this ability 1 time per thread, and needs to close his eyes when casting to prevent blinding himself.
Equipment/Inventory:
Steel Breastplate: A simple, unadorned steel breastplate that has been battered, punctured, and marred by a couple of battles. While still wearable, and offering decent enough protection, the condition of this item has put Teric in the market for new armor. Leather straps with easy to manage buckles at the shoulders criss-cross over the wearer's back making it easy and comfortable to wear, and simple to don or remove in a hurry. This item bears no enchantments or enhancements of any kind.
Thorn: A steel sword-cane that comes apart when the wielder twists the head of the cane. The thin, rapier-like blade is approximately 3 1/2 feet long and is better suited for slashing attacks than it is for piercing. The handle is a steel and leather-bound grip fashioned at the pommel like a closed rosebud. The rest of the cane, a black lacquered length of oak with a rounded steel tip, was broken in a battle with the ghoul Lorenor at Dagas Pagoda.
Eklan Buckler: A small, rounded buckler crafted of Eklan. It is of average quality, and slightly used. This item bears no enchantments or enhancements of any kind.
Steel Vambrace: An arm guard designed to be worn on the forearm. Teric only purchased the one, feeling that purchasing a vambrace for the arm typically wielding his shield would have been redundant. It's slightly worn, but in rather good condition. This item bears no enchantments or enhancements of any kind.
Plynt Dagger: A dirk-like, guardless plynt dagger with leather bound handle that Teric stole from a Quan merchant when visiting the Docks in Scara Brae. It is of average quality, and he typically keeps the blade tucked into his boot. This item bears no enchantments or enhancements of any kind.
Boots: Iron-shod black leather boots with iron plates across the three buckles in front, protecting the shin up to the knee. The boots are specifically designed for Teric to hug his feet, ankles, shins, and calf muscles like a second skin. This helps support his lower leg, and prevents him from spraining or twisting his ankles.
Clothing: A deliberate selection of black and crimson clothing that almost completely conceal the decades of aging scar tissue that mar his skin. Black vlince breeches, a crimson vlince shirt with black vest, a heavy black leather belt, underclothes, and the signature piece of his wardrobe: a heavy black coat tailored to his chest and arms that descends to just above his knees. The hem of the coat and its high collar is lined with black ermine fur with silver buttons, and there is a blood red rose embroidered over the heart.
Red Ribbon: A simple, foot-long ribbon made of red silk. A trophy of sorts, and one that Teric has taken to wearing tied around his left bicep for good-luck.
History:
Prologue:
To sum up Teric Bloodrose's life would take many pages, and yet most of those pages would be the empty accounts of long forgotten battles, raids, and small time wars. Like most career fighters, Teric has had little time for a home life, for a family, or for any of the other things that give a man purpose in his life. Instead he has spent the vast majority of his non-descript life fighting other people's struggles, and fritting away the money earned with his sword. It's the lifestyle of choice for those with a live fast and die young mentality, but when you don't follow through on the die young part of that equation, a man finds himself burnt out and tired.
At the age when most other men consider themselves lucky to be alive, and eagerly anticipating easy days ahead, Teric has found himself at a crossroads, of sorts. Mercenary work no longer holds the appeal for him that it once did, and Teric is left wondering about his legacy. How will people remember him, if they remember him at all? Who is there to pass down his legacy when he has no family of his own?
It is a 'midlife' crisis of sorts, coming at the tail end of a long career spent ensuring that another man's enemies don't live long enough to suffer a midlife crisis...
History thru Level 3:
Level 0:
After emerging from his short-lived retirement, Teric resurfaced in the city of Radasanth at the famed Citadel. His purpose was to convince himself that an old man could still compete against a younger generation of warriors, and the veteran was hard-put to prove that fact in a fierce duel (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=8891) with the mimic, Viral Kraus. Luck, experience, and Viral's own lack of self-control eventually yielded a victory for Teric in that fight, but the psuedo-win didn't quite settle the warrior's need to prove his mettle.
Teric stayed in the city for several days, touring the taverns and the markets (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=8995). While his sword was customarily his greatest source of income, Teric discovered through a couple evenings of story telling that a small living (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=90071#post90071) could be made entertaining tavern patrons with exaggerated tales of past campaigns. Pleasant distractions such as these could only keep the warrior preoccupied for so long, however, as he soon found himself aboard the barge from Corone to Scara Brae; on his way to visit the Dajas Pagoda.
Once in Scara Brae Teric submitted an open challenge to any of the Pagoda's Warriors, the first tier of hierarchs. While not entirely familiar with the place or its workings, Teric knew from word of mouth that great warriors came to battle at the Pagoda, and through victory might attain a place (along with fame and wealth) amongst its protectorate. His challenge was accepted by the ghoul, Lorenor (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=9531), and the two dueled in an old warehouse near the Pagoda. While Teric gave his best, the ghoul's superior vitality and stamina won out in the end, and the old warrior fell mortally wounded at the Pagoda Warrior's hand.
Healed, most likely by magics similar to those wielded by the Citadel's Ai'Brone, Teric made a swing through the Docks to purchase some new equipment (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=9937). Afterwards he couldn't quite bring himself to board the barge back to Corone, and it is currently believed that Teric is exploring the depths beneath Scara Brae (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=10177) with a small group of adventurers at the request of the City Watch...
Level 1:
With the confusion of the unrest in Salvar, and undead armies storming across the lands of Raiaera, this was a chaotic time for Teric. Driven by the promise of lucrative mercenary work and certain unsettled personal issues (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=10052), Teric travelled to Knife's Edge in Salvar. It was in this city that the veteran had origninally built his career, but personal issues had kept him away from the familar streets for almost twenty years.
Upon returning to Knife's Edge, Teric was recruited by an up and coming Contractor by the name of Rayse Valentino. Together they undertook a rather large job (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=89874#post89874) aimed at eliminating some of the shadier characters in Salvar's criminal underworld. Unbeknownst to Teric, the job (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=10170)was actually one designed to get Rayse killed, while at the same time taking out opposition as various crime lords hurried to take advantage of the growing unrest between the Church and the Throne.
In addition to the normal stresses of working together on such a difficult mission, it also surfaced that Rayse was in fact Teric's nephew, a boy he had given up for lost two decades ago after the death of his sister, Victoria, Rayse's mother.
Level 2:
After the events of which he was a part in Salvar, Teric and Rayse travelled south to Corone. Together they co-founded "The Company" (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=10266), an independent contracting and mercenary guild. Few joined them at first, as is usually the case with upstart enterprises not backed by some larger power, and Teric used the downtime afforded by low activity to travel back to Scara Brae to see to his duties as a Warrior at the Dajas Pagoda.
Level 3:
While attending to his duties as a Pagoda Warrior, Teric fought and defeated two strong opponents. The first was Torgrim (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=11005), a giant of a Northman from the frozen reaches beyond Salvar. That fight ended in a virtual draw, with both combatants collapsing from wounds and exhaustion before either could claim a true victory. The second battle involved an undead going by the name Samir (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=11292), and the fight was called off by the Pagoda's management before it could run its course. With those two challenges behind him, the veteran decided to push his luck and submitted a challenge of his own to one of the Pagoda's Masters.
Level 3 Profile (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=11384)
Biographical Information:
Name: Teric Bloodrose
Age: 52
Race: Human
Hair Color: Silver
Eye Color: Blue
Weight: 168 lbs
Height: 6'0"
Occupation: Fighter
Personality:
Teric has been described before as a truly neutral party, lacking both political and personal loyalties. He's the sort of stray radical that adheres to only a modest personal code of conduct, and as a mercenary can be persuaded to do just about anything for the right price. Generally the veteran comes across as friendly and good natured, although he can become quickly annoyed by the right people. While conducting business he is curt and professional to a fault, and his cautious nature prevents anyone from ever claiming that over-confidence led to Teric's downfall...
Physical Description:
Teric is relatively unremarkable appearance-wise, but his straight back and muscular frame betray a level of fitness not often seen in men his age. He keeps his silvery hair cropped close to his head, and maintains a neatly trimmed beard to try and hide the wrinkles and scars he does have; a look that might attract women with a thing for older gentlemen. His blue eyes have been described as non-descript, but seem to fit, and the old warrior has begun to develop something that could pass for a healthy skin tone.
While he has reclaimed some of the muscle mass that made him a threat in his youth, it's still Teric's clothing that's most likely to draw a person's attention in a crowd. His overwhelmingly black wardrobe, splashed with a bit of crimson here and there, is well tailored and bit higher-class than what you'd normally find on a career fighter. His coat especially, with it's ermine collar and the professional fit, does it's part to attract wandering eyes to the warrior wherever he goes.
Skills:
After nearly thirty-two years of rigorous training, intense combat, and having faced nearly every trick, attack, spell, or illusion ever conceived by man, Teric Bloodrose is a veritable master of armed and unarmed combat. Unfortunately, though, decades of wear, tear, injuries, and wounds take a hefty toll on the human body. Thus, while he still retains a fairly impressive knowledge of various fighting styles, weapons, and combat tactics, he is only able to perform but a mere handful of the feats he learned in his youth...
Current Fighting Style: Waterdancing
Waterdancing is a fighting style heavily rooted in light-armed combat, and focuses primarily on speed, agility, and balance. As he has grown older, and the brute strength of his youth waned, Teric slowly began to develop this style of fighting as a replacement. Now very refined, this style enables Teric to perform an extensive catalog of swordplay attacks and parries, and teaches the old fighter how to move in ways that give the appearance of grace and speed without actually heightening his abilities in these areas. By comparison you could equate Teric's fighting skill here to a highly advanced level of skill in other schools of fighting.
Benefits: While the fighting style itself is not specifically designed to abnormally or superficially enchance the speed and agility of practitioners, it does encourage said practitioners to develop in these areas. That said, it is not uncommon for Waterdancers to excel in these areas after practicing the style for a good period of time.
1) Attack Speed: Teric is now approximately 2x faster than the average warrior when attacking.
2) Reaction Time: Teric's reaction time and reflexes are now approximately 2.5x those of the average warrior.
3) Increased Agility: Teric can now comfortably evade normal attacks from people of average skill. This is to say that an average swordsman would have a difficult time striking Teric, while a skilled swordsman would not have the same level of difficulty. His increased agility also affords him the ability to perform simple acrobatic feats such as short wall runs, somersaults, and careful tumbles.
Sixth Sense
As he's become reacquainted with the battlefield, Teric's so-called 'Sixth Sense' has started to come back to him. Essentially the 'Sense' can be summarized as the decades of past battle experiences Teric had cataloged in the back of his mind. When you've fought as many people as Teric has, you begin to notice and pick out particular movements and stances - and can sometimes guess what an opponent is going to do next based on these markers.
At this level Teric has a 15% chance of correctly anticipating what an opponent is going to do - before they do it - so long as his opponent drops some hints through his body language (assumes a particular stance, holds their weapon a particular way, etc).
Works best against: Other swordsmen/swordswomen, as Teric has fought this type of opponent the most.
Works least against: Fighters with unorthodox or unpredictable fighting styles, as the clues they drop are generally vague or unfamiliar.
Doesn't work on: Magi, as it's generally impossible to guess what kind of magic is going to be flying at you next.
Peak Physical Conditioning
For all intensive purposes, despite its aged and worn appearance, Teric possesses the body of a man not even half his age. Rigorous training and a knack for finding himself in physically violent situations have toned and shaped the warrior's body into top form; even by the standards of men in their twenties. This level of fitness affords Teric the ability to strenuously exert himself for good periods of time and to lift and carry up to 3x his body weight fair distances.
Dense Skeleton
The hundreds and thousands of micro-fractures Teric has suffered over decades of being beaten and pummeled have slowly compacted his bones and made them denser. By virtue of this phenomenon, Teric's bones are now roughly as strong as steel. While this makes Teric's bones more difficult to break, it also adds the disadvantage of making his bones brittle as well. When they do break, they tend to break badly rather than just fracture or crack.
Techniques:
Cross-Slash
One of the few techniques Teric can still perform at his current level of fitness. "Slash" refers to both the method and result of the technique, with Teric whipping the blade of his weapon through the air at such a speed that it rends the air for several feet in an arc, following the trail of the blade. The technique now also creates a second arc that travels perpendicular to the first. The effectiveness of this technique is directly tied to the range at which it is used, and the effectiveness drops exponentially the farther away Teric is from his target.
At a range of 0 - 10 feet the arc can damage persons or objects as if they had been struck by a Dehlar blade. The force of the blow is such that the arc can pierce steel.
At a range of 10 - 21 feet the arc loses its cutting edge, but retains enough blunt force to dent steel.
At a range of 21 - 32 feet the arc will begin to dissipate, and the target might feel a strong gust of wind blow past them. This wind gust is powerful enough to disrupt the trajectory of projectiles in flight.
After 32 feet the arc is completely dissipated.
Teric can use this ability 2 times per thread before the muscles in his arm can no longer sustain the force needed to perform this feat.
Double-Take:
This skill, when activated, causes anyone looking directly at Teric to suffer a mild to negligible hallucination. Some have described the effects of said hallucination to be like crossing your eyes so that you momentarily see double, while others have described it as Teric's shadow coming to life. Whatever the influence, which plays heavily on the type of opponent and their personal resistances to illusionary tricks, the overall effect is essentially the same. The Double-Take does exactly what's its name implies: it plays with a person's vision just long enough to make them doubt what they are seeing, forcing them to take a second look...a double-take.
Activation time: Instantaneous
Duration: 1/2 a second
Teric can currently use this ability 1 time per thread.
How a PC is influenced by the Double-Take is entirely up to them. Characters resistant or immune to illusions or hallucinations are not likely to be affected at all, while simple-minded or inexperienced characters are likely to suffer some form of momentary visual 'freak out'.
Flashbang:
This is an old shock-and-awe tactic Teric picked up from a street magician turned street fighter in his youth. While normally performed using an explosive powder or similar medium, this particular magician had found a way to recreate the results using a low-level fire cantrip. It is essentially a fireball spell minus the fireball, and allows Teric to quickly conjure up a flash of bright light accompanied by a loud banging noise as the magics normally used to condense the fireball rapidly expand and escape Teric's palm.
Anyone looking directly at Teric at the time of casting is subject to the blinding and/or stunning influences of the flashbang.
Whether or not PC's are affected by the light or sound is entirely up to them. Can be cast within the time period of 1 post.
Teric can use this ability 1 time per thread, and needs to close his eyes when casting to prevent blinding himself.
Equipment/Inventory:
Steel Breastplate: A simple, unadorned steel breastplate that has been battered, punctured, and marred by a couple of battles. While still wearable, and offering decent enough protection, the condition of this item has put Teric in the market for new armor. Leather straps with easy to manage buckles at the shoulders criss-cross over the wearer's back making it easy and comfortable to wear, and simple to don or remove in a hurry. This item bears no enchantments or enhancements of any kind.
Thorn: A steel sword-cane that comes apart when the wielder twists the head of the cane. The thin, rapier-like blade is approximately 3 1/2 feet long and is better suited for slashing attacks than it is for piercing. The handle is a steel and leather-bound grip fashioned at the pommel like a closed rosebud. The rest of the cane, a black lacquered length of oak with a rounded steel tip, was broken in a battle with the ghoul Lorenor at Dagas Pagoda.
Eklan Buckler: A small, rounded buckler crafted of Eklan. It is of average quality, and slightly used. This item bears no enchantments or enhancements of any kind.
Steel Vambrace: An arm guard designed to be worn on the forearm. Teric only purchased the one, feeling that purchasing a vambrace for the arm typically wielding his shield would have been redundant. It's slightly worn, but in rather good condition. This item bears no enchantments or enhancements of any kind.
Plynt Dagger: A dirk-like, guardless plynt dagger with leather bound handle that Teric stole from a Quan merchant when visiting the Docks in Scara Brae. It is of average quality, and he typically keeps the blade tucked into his boot. This item bears no enchantments or enhancements of any kind.
Boots: Iron-shod black leather boots with iron plates across the three buckles in front, protecting the shin up to the knee. The boots are specifically designed for Teric to hug his feet, ankles, shins, and calf muscles like a second skin. This helps support his lower leg, and prevents him from spraining or twisting his ankles.
Clothing: A deliberate selection of black and crimson clothing that almost completely conceal the decades of aging scar tissue that mar his skin. Black vlince breeches, a crimson vlince shirt with black vest, a heavy black leather belt, underclothes, and the signature piece of his wardrobe: a heavy black coat tailored to his chest and arms that descends to just above his knees. The hem of the coat and its high collar is lined with black ermine fur with silver buttons, and there is a blood red rose embroidered over the heart.
Red Ribbon: A simple, foot-long ribbon made of red silk. A trophy of sorts, and one that Teric has taken to wearing tied around his left bicep for good-luck.
History:
Prologue:
To sum up Teric Bloodrose's life would take many pages, and yet most of those pages would be the empty accounts of long forgotten battles, raids, and small time wars. Like most career fighters, Teric has had little time for a home life, for a family, or for any of the other things that give a man purpose in his life. Instead he has spent the vast majority of his non-descript life fighting other people's struggles, and fritting away the money earned with his sword. It's the lifestyle of choice for those with a live fast and die young mentality, but when you don't follow through on the die young part of that equation, a man finds himself burnt out and tired.
At the age when most other men consider themselves lucky to be alive, and eagerly anticipating easy days ahead, Teric has found himself at a crossroads, of sorts. Mercenary work no longer holds the appeal for him that it once did, and Teric is left wondering about his legacy. How will people remember him, if they remember him at all? Who is there to pass down his legacy when he has no family of his own?
It is a 'midlife' crisis of sorts, coming at the tail end of a long career spent ensuring that another man's enemies don't live long enough to suffer a midlife crisis...
History thru Level 3:
Level 0:
After emerging from his short-lived retirement, Teric resurfaced in the city of Radasanth at the famed Citadel. His purpose was to convince himself that an old man could still compete against a younger generation of warriors, and the veteran was hard-put to prove that fact in a fierce duel (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=8891) with the mimic, Viral Kraus. Luck, experience, and Viral's own lack of self-control eventually yielded a victory for Teric in that fight, but the psuedo-win didn't quite settle the warrior's need to prove his mettle.
Teric stayed in the city for several days, touring the taverns and the markets (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=8995). While his sword was customarily his greatest source of income, Teric discovered through a couple evenings of story telling that a small living (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=90071#post90071) could be made entertaining tavern patrons with exaggerated tales of past campaigns. Pleasant distractions such as these could only keep the warrior preoccupied for so long, however, as he soon found himself aboard the barge from Corone to Scara Brae; on his way to visit the Dajas Pagoda.
Once in Scara Brae Teric submitted an open challenge to any of the Pagoda's Warriors, the first tier of hierarchs. While not entirely familiar with the place or its workings, Teric knew from word of mouth that great warriors came to battle at the Pagoda, and through victory might attain a place (along with fame and wealth) amongst its protectorate. His challenge was accepted by the ghoul, Lorenor (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=9531), and the two dueled in an old warehouse near the Pagoda. While Teric gave his best, the ghoul's superior vitality and stamina won out in the end, and the old warrior fell mortally wounded at the Pagoda Warrior's hand.
Healed, most likely by magics similar to those wielded by the Citadel's Ai'Brone, Teric made a swing through the Docks to purchase some new equipment (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=9937). Afterwards he couldn't quite bring himself to board the barge back to Corone, and it is currently believed that Teric is exploring the depths beneath Scara Brae (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=10177) with a small group of adventurers at the request of the City Watch...
Level 1:
With the confusion of the unrest in Salvar, and undead armies storming across the lands of Raiaera, this was a chaotic time for Teric. Driven by the promise of lucrative mercenary work and certain unsettled personal issues (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=10052), Teric travelled to Knife's Edge in Salvar. It was in this city that the veteran had origninally built his career, but personal issues had kept him away from the familar streets for almost twenty years.
Upon returning to Knife's Edge, Teric was recruited by an up and coming Contractor by the name of Rayse Valentino. Together they undertook a rather large job (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=89874#post89874) aimed at eliminating some of the shadier characters in Salvar's criminal underworld. Unbeknownst to Teric, the job (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=10170)was actually one designed to get Rayse killed, while at the same time taking out opposition as various crime lords hurried to take advantage of the growing unrest between the Church and the Throne.
In addition to the normal stresses of working together on such a difficult mission, it also surfaced that Rayse was in fact Teric's nephew, a boy he had given up for lost two decades ago after the death of his sister, Victoria, Rayse's mother.
Level 2:
After the events of which he was a part in Salvar, Teric and Rayse travelled south to Corone. Together they co-founded "The Company" (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=10266), an independent contracting and mercenary guild. Few joined them at first, as is usually the case with upstart enterprises not backed by some larger power, and Teric used the downtime afforded by low activity to travel back to Scara Brae to see to his duties as a Warrior at the Dajas Pagoda.
Level 3:
While attending to his duties as a Pagoda Warrior, Teric fought and defeated two strong opponents. The first was Torgrim (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=11005), a giant of a Northman from the frozen reaches beyond Salvar. That fight ended in a virtual draw, with both combatants collapsing from wounds and exhaustion before either could claim a true victory. The second battle involved an undead going by the name Samir (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=11292), and the fight was called off by the Pagoda's management before it could run its course. With those two challenges behind him, the veteran decided to push his luck and submitted a challenge of his own to one of the Pagoda's Masters.